Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Raw Food Tuesday! And Obama Rules!

Once again, Obama totally won the presidential debate. He looked smooth, smart, and totally together. And he knew his stuff ... McCain just looked old and lied a lot about Barack's policies. But even though the debate happened just 3 hours down the road from my Memphis home, I spent the evening on my couch noshing on raw food yumminess.

It all started this morning with Raw Nut Yogurt and Fresh Berries:

From Alive in 5: Raw Gourmet Meals in Five Minutes, this recipe calls for processing soaked cashews and almond pulp, water, probiotic powder (which I take everyday anyway), and vanilla bean. I didn't have any vanilla bean, so I used pure vanilla extract. Don't know if that's raw or not. I also added some raw agave in the food processor to sweeten the yogurt up a bit. Then I topped the mixture with fresh raspberries and some blackberries I thawed out from the freezer.

After breakfast, I had my monthly B-12 shot at work, which provided for the energy I was missing by not having my daily coffee. I do drink tea on raw days because I believe that I would die without some caffeine.

For a pre-lunch snack (I was starving by 10:30 a.m.), I munched on this Raw Zucchini Hummus with Celery Sticks:

From Jennifer Cornbleet's Raw Food Made Easy, this hummus subs chopped raw zucchini for cooked chickpeas. The rest of the hummus ingredients — tahini, lemon juice, garlic — are pretty much the same. The result was delicious. I snacked on it after lunch too with red pepper strips and baby carrots.

For lunch, I had the Harvest Salad, also from Cornbleet's book:

With organic baby spinach, a Gala apple, fresh raspberries and blackberries, chopped pecans and a classic oil and vinegar dressing, this salad really hit the spot. I loved the way the sweetness of the apples and berries contrasted with the tanginess of the vinegerette. By the way, I took this photo in my office breakroom. I've recently started using real plates and silverware at the office instead of wasting paper plates and plastic utensils.

Before hitting the gym after work, I snacked on this Go Raw Spirulina Energy Bar:

It was pretty good. Spirulina always tastes a little funky to me, kinda like wheatgrass. But I know it's good for me, and the banana, coconut, dates, and sesame seeds in the bar made up for the algae's weird taste.

That kept me full throughout my workout (it had 13 grams of fat and 7 grams of protein!). When I got home, I whipped up the Latin American Cabbage from Cornbleet's book with a side of creamy Guacamole:

The cabbage (a mix of salted cabbage, red pepper, tomato, cumcumber, onion, cilantro, lime, and olive oil) was pretty tasty. But I think I'll add some agave to my leftovers. I like my slaw a tad bit sweet. The guac was amazing! Unfortunately, the first avocado I cut into had a ton of black spots inside (has anyone else noticed this happening more often lately?). I had to run out to the store in the rain for another avocado. Thankfully, it was flawless on the inside.

After making all that yummy rawness, I settled in to watch the debate in my PJs! I can't believe it's only a month from Election Day! I'm so excited!

hooray for raw food tuesday! and hooray for Obama! i just ♥ him, too! mccain was creeping me out a bit with his extra neck skin (ewwww) and how he would just kinda shuffle around. boo!

the raw nut yogurt looks really, really goooooood - and i'm loving the raw hummus, too! very cool stuff. i've tried that raw bar before and found that the spirulina makes it taste kinda bitter to me, but i love the banana flavor in it. mmmmmmm! oh my gosh - your salad is GORGEOUS! i want to devour it NOW! and i really love the sound of the latin american cabbage! mmmmmmmmmmm! i do love me some cabbage!

hooray for another awesome raw food tuesday, Bianca! you make it look so gooooooooooooood!

I think Obama did far better in the debate last night than McCain - by far. And seriously, McCain is either crazy or completely out of touch with reality. But enough political ranting.

Wahoo for bringing in actual dishes to your office rather than using disposables. I recently started doing that too, and it isn't a huge inconvenience like I thought it would be. I just keep my bowl, plate, fork, etc in my desk and wash them in our sink after lunch. Yay for reducing waste.

I agree about the slaw, I like it to be a little sweet myself. I've also had that problem with avocados. I haven't had one in awhile though so I can't speak for their recent quality.

Guacamole! I was in a Mexican restaurant the other day and couldn't eat the guacamole because the waiter thought it had dairy but wouldn't go to look at the ingredients! Anyway, what kind of Mexican restaurant buys premade guacamole...Anyway, I love your raw food Tuesdays! PS: thanks for the good wishes for the work drama. You're right, it's just a drama. I should really ignore it.

Raw days are good days but I've recently cut back my daily raw to 50 percent. I just wasn't having the kind of energy I needed. I love Cornbleet's book though and will absolutely be making that salad. I have been in kind of an apple and pear stupor lately.

My name is Bianca ...

About Me

I'm a 9-year vegan, 19-year vegetarian from the Mid-South, not too far from the muddy banks of the Mississippi River. And that means cornbread, butter beans, and collard greens.
These days, I live in Memphis. Check out my cookbook — Cookin' Crunk. It's filled with yummilicious veganized soul food and country classics.